Boy, 16, arrested in melee among Allen students

He's charged as an adult with attempted homicide in stabbing of 14-year-old.

October 09, 2009|By Frank Warner OF THE MORNING CALL

A 16-year-old Allentown boy was arrested Thursday and charged as an adult in the stabbing of a 14-year-old boy during a Sept. 29 city fight between two groups of Allen High School students.

Manuel DeLaRosa of 511 1/2 Turner St. was charged with attempted homicide and aggravated assault for allegedly stabbing Harold Zayas four times during the 3:55 p.m. brawl in the 700 block of Linden Street.

DeLaRosa used a "sharp instrument" to stab Zayas in the lower stomach, the right chest, the upper left back and the left rib area, according to the police arrest affidavit.

DeLaRosa was arraigned Thursday night by District Judge Anthony G. Rapp, who committed him to Lehigh County Prison under $150,000 bail.

DeLaRosa is the second boy arrested in connection with the downtown melee, which involved as many as 30 teens. On Oct. 1, a 17-year-old boy was charged with slashing a 14-year-old and a 15-year-old. Those two boys suffered only superficial wounds.

DeLaRosa's arrest affidavit says a MySpace Web page played a role in identifying him as Zayas' attacker. Police said they recovered a photo of DeLaRosa from a MySpace page that gave him the name "Snsiyo."

Police showed the photo and others to a witness, and the witness picked out the DeLaRosa photo, police said. An Allen High official confirmed to police that the boy in the photo is DeLaRosa.

The witness told police that, after the two groups started fighting on Linden Street, he saw DeLaRosa stab Zayas, first in the back and then in the stomach and the chest, the affidavit says.